Vermont Avenue is one of the longest running north–south
streets in
City of Los Angeles and
Los Angeles County,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. With a length of , is the third longest of the north–south thoroughfares in the region. For most of its length between its southern end in
San Pedro and south of
Downtown Los Angeles, it runs parallel to the west of the
Harbor Freeway
A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...
(I-110).
Route description
Vermont Avenue's southern point is just north of
San Pedro at a five-point intersection with Anaheim Street, Gaffey Street and Palos Verdes Drive. After a short distance,
Normandie Avenue
Normandie Avenue is one of Los Angeles County's longest north–south streets, with a stretch of about . It lies between Western Avenue to the west and Vermont Avenue to the east. The avenue begins in the south by branching off from Vermont Aven ...
branches off due north while Vermont turns northeast towards its intersection with
Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). Afterwards, it travels roughly in a straight line north for , parallel to the
Harbor Freeway
A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...
(I-110) to the east. North of PCH, it passes through the unincorporated area of
West Carson before crossing the
San Diego Freeway The San Diego Freeway is one of the named principal Southern California freeways. It consists of the following two segments:
* Interstate 5, from California State Route 94 in San Diego to Interstate 405 (El Toro Y) in Irvine
* Interstate 405, in ...
(I-405).
Between a point south of the intersection with
Artesia Boulevard
Artesia Boulevard is a west-east thoroughfare in Los Angeles County and Orange County.
Route description
Artesia Boulevard begins at the intersection with Pacific Coast Highway. West of this point, Artesia Boulevard becomes Gould Avenue and l ...
/western end of the
Gardena Freeway
State Route 91 (SR 91) is a major east–west state highway in the U.S. state of California that serves several regions of the Greater Los Angeles urban area. A freeway throughout its entire length, it officially runs from Vermont Avenue in ...
(
SR 91), and
El Segundo Boulevard, Vermont marks the eastern boundary of the
City of Gardena
Gardena is a city located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 58,829 at the 2010 census, up from 57,746 at the 2000 census. Until 2014, the US census cited the City of Gardena as the plac ...
. At 164th Street in Gardena, Vermont widens from a four-lane thoroughfare to a six-lane road with a wide median. From 164th Street, an abandoned railway runs through the median to a point just north of Redondo Beach Boulevard, afterwards the median becomes tree-lined. From 88th Street to Gage Avenue, Vermont Avenue includes adjacent frontage roads. North of Gage, Vermont thins down to 4 lanes.
Vermont Avenue then passes at the western end of the
University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8.1 ...
and
Exposition Park in
South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown.
It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as a ...
. In August 2012, the City of Los Angeles designated a portion of Vermont Avenue in
Pico-Union
Pico-Union is a neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California. The name "Pico-Union" refers to the neighborhood that surrounds the intersection of Pico Boulevard and Union Avenue. Located immediately west of Downtown Los Angeles, it is home to ...
as the "El Salvador Community Corridor."
Between the
Santa Monica Freeway
Interstate 10 (I-10) is a transcontinental Interstate Highway in the United States, stretching from Santa Monica, California to Jacksonville, Florida. The segment of I-10 in California runs east from Santa Monica through Los Angeles, San Bernar ...
(I-10) and the
Hollywood Freeway
The Hollywood Freeway is one of the principal freeways of Los Angeles, California (the boundaries of which it does not leave) and one of the busiest in the United States. It is the principal route through the Cahuenga Pass, the primary shortcut ...
(
US 101
U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...
), Vermont Avenue crosses
Wilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard is a prominent boulevard in the Los Angeles area of Southern California, extending from Ocean Avenue in the city of Santa Monica east to Grand Avenue in the Financial District of downtown Los Angeles. One of the principal ...
and passes through
Koreatown
A Koreatown ( Korean: 코리아타운), also known as a Little Korea or Little Seoul, is a Korean-dominated ethnic enclave within a city or metropolitan area outside the Korean Peninsula.
History
Koreatowns as an East Asian ethnic enclave have ...
. It then forms the eastern boundary of the
East Hollywood district of
Hollywood as it passes through
Little Armenia. It intersects
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in ...
, next to the
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) is a nationally ranked, freestanding acute care children's hospital in the East Hollywood district of Los Angeles, on Sunset Boulevard at the corner of Vermont Avenue. The hospital has been academically affi ...
, and
Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywoo ...
, to the east of the
Barnsdall Art Park
Barnsdall Art Park is a city park located in the East Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California. Parking and arts buildings access is from Hollywood Boulevard on the north side of the park. The park is a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument ...
. At the intersection with Los Feliz Boulevard, it becomes a divided road with one lane in each direction as it heads to
Griffith Park
Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park includes popular attractions such as the Los Angeles Zoo, the Autry Museum of the Ameri ...
. Entering the park, it then becomes signed as ''Vermont Canyon Road'' before it passes by the
Greek Theatre. The road then ends at the intersection with Observatory Road, the main route to the
Griffith Observatory.
Public transit
Subway and light rail
Vermont Avenue has the most
Metro Rail stations of any street in the
Metro subway and
light rail system, that include:
*
B Line only:
**
Vermont/Sunset station at Sunset Boulevard.
**
Vermont/Santa Monica station Santa Monica Boulevard.
**
Vermont/Beverly station at Beverly Boulevard.
*
D Line & B Line:
**
Wilshire/Vermont station at Wilshire Boulevard.
*
E Line:
**
Vermont/Expo station at Exposition Boulevard.
*
C Line:
**
Vermont/Athens station at the
Century Freeway (Interstate 105).
Buses
*
Metro Local
Los Angeles Metro Bus is the transit bus service in Los Angeles County, California operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .
, there ar ...
lines 204 and 205,
Gardena Transit line 2, run along Vermont Avenue, as well as
Metro Rapid line 754 and
Metro Express line 550.
*Metro lines 204 and 754 run between Sunset Boulevard and
Vermont Green Line Station
*Gardena line 2 between Interstate 105 and the
Harbor Gateway Transit Center
Harbor Gateway Transit Center, formerly Artesia Transit Center, is a large bus station at the southern end of the Harbor Transitway that serves as a transport hub (known locally as a transit center) for the South Bay region of Los Angeles Count ...
, and Metro lines 205 and 550 to PCH.
Metro lines 204 and 754 use
NABI &
New Flyer
New Flyer is a Canadian multinational bus manufacturer, specializing in the production of transit buses. New Flyer is owned by the NFI Group, a holding company for several bus manufacturers. New Flyer has several manufacturing facilities in Can ...
buses (9230-9594) & (8700-9199)
''Transit Corridor''
Metro is planning to rebuild the roadway between the
Sunset B Line station and 120th Street. Initial plans call for a
bus rapid transit line to operate along the corridor. In the future,
Measure M
Measure R was a ballot measure during the November 2008 elections in Los Angeles County, California, that proposed a half-cent sales taxes increase on each dollar of taxable sales (originating in or made from Los Angeles County) for thirty years ...
funding is expected to become available for an extension of the
B Line subway down Vermont Avenue at least as far as the neighborhood of
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
(just south of the
105 Freeway), possibly as a combination of both underground and elevated heavy rail. Bus rapid transit implementation is expected as part of the
Twenty-eight by '28 initiative, in anticipation of the
2028 Summer Olympics
The 2028 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad, also known as Los Angeles 2028 or LA28) is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from July 14 to July 30, 2028, in and around Los Angeles, Cali ...
. Rail funding is planned for 2067. The service was dubbed the R Line in 2018,
though line names are tentative until opening.
Los Angeles Railway
Until 1963, Vermont Avenue was served by several
Los Angeles Railway
The Los Angeles Railway (also known as Yellow Cars, LARy and later Los Angeles Transit Lines) was a system of streetcars that operated in Central Los Angeles and surrounding neighborhoods between 1895 and 1963. The system provided frequent local ...
Yellow Car
streetcar
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport a ...
lines: the
F,
R,
S,
U, and
V. After streetcars ceased running under the
Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority, tracks were torn up and service replaced by buses.
See also
*
Streets in Los Angeles County, California
Streets is the plural of street, a type of road.
Streets or The Streets may also refer to: Music
* Streets (band), a rock band fronted by Kansas vocalist Steve Walsh
* ''Streets'' (punk album), a 1977 compilation album of various early UK punk ba ...
*
Public transportation in Los Angeles County, California
References
External links
{{coord, 33, 57, 36, N, 118, 17, 30, W, type:landmark, display=title
Streets in Los Angeles
Streets in Los Angeles County, California
Central Los Angeles
East Hollywood, Los Angeles
South Los Angeles